Mark Hughes told talkSPORT that James Milner, and not Thiago Alcantara, should have been the one who should have protected Rhys Williams at Old Trafford as Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold bombing forward, Williams was left exposed on the right-hand side, with the Liverpool youngster vulnerable to Manchester United’s counter-attack.
The Liverpool academy product would have felt that he should have done more when Marcus Rashford put Man United ahead just after the break because he failed to cut out the ball over the top.
Both Hughes and former Aston Villa defender Andy Townsend discussed Williams needing that protection from his midfield yesterday.
“I wonder whether Milner, I don’t know what Sparky thinks about this, but whether he can go over to the other side of midfield and protect [Rhys Williams],” said Townsend.
Hughes added: “I think Thiago is trying to get over there but he’s trying to be a creative influence as well.
“Maybe somebody who is a bit more pragmatic, which you sense James would do and he would try to block those avenues out that Manchester United are finding.”
It was a difficult afternoon for many Liverpool players, including their £140k-a-week senior star [Spotrac] in Milner.
The key thing for Liverpool is that their motor, from an attacking sense, has got going again and they need to take that into the Tottenham match.
Roberto Firmino showed glimpses of his best once again and that brought the best out of Mo Salah. More of that against Spurs then the wins will flow back for the English champions.
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